The former provincial superior of the German Jesuits from 2010 to 2017, and current editor-in-chief of a Jesuit cultural magazine, has criticised the Catholic Church’s governance as overly “monarchical” and called for significantly greater participation of women in leadership roles in an article released on 1 June.
In his entry published in the latest issue of Stimmen der Zeit, Fr Stefan Kiechle writes: “Leadership in the Church is monarchical: a parish priest has the final say in his parish. A bishop decides whether or not to implement in his diocese what is decided in the bishops’ conference or in a possibly synodal body. Finally, a pope decides for the universal Church; he appoints decision-makers; he establishes law, adjudicates disputes and applies law at his discretion.”
